Articles in The 'social accounts' Tag

Social Media Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

by Katherine Bennett

There are many companies that view social media as a huge mountain to conquer. However, social media doesn’t have to be a daunting task, if your company has a strategy and follows it. Setting a plan in place, alone or with an agency can help a business be successful in the arena of social media.

The first step of the plan is to recognize that it is subject to change. Social media is constantly evolving; therefore it is important to be aware of those changes and willing to make adjustments. Think about Facebook. There was a time where businesses couldn’t do apps, but now they have the capability to create and run many different types of apps on Facebook.  Another example is that not too long ago, every social media site had to be logged into individually. Now, HootSuite and other tools make it easy to access and monitor multiple social accounts across different social media channels.

Another key to being successful with social media is to define the boundaries before you start. What is your tone? How do you want to come across to your fans, followers and viewers? The CEO from Zappos has his own Twitter account and he tweets about his day and things taking place in the office. He has no problem saying, “Getting on a plane, need rest” one day, and the next saying, “here’s a live company meeting with our employees, see video.” The tone of his Twitter account is very engaging. On the flip side, other companies may take a more formal approach, making their tweets a little less personal. Either way, the strategy should be determined from the outset. By setting the tone beforehand, your company can keep out of harm’s way. Make sure that whoever is managing your social accounts (whether internally or externally) is clearly aware of the correct way to “talk” through your company’s social voice. There are many stories about companies who entered the social media world and had it backfire because they didn’t define the boundaries of their social account.

In defining a social media strategy, the base plan doesn’t have to take forever, but it should be carefully thought out. Once your company establishes some basic foundations for your social media account, go ahead and be increasingly creative. Do promotions, contests, free giveaways and more. Social media is a great way to reach out to your target audience; just make sure your business adjusts to changes and clearly defines its social boundaries.